Canterbury star Josh Reynolds admits his side got a "smack in the face" in their embarrassing NRL loss to North Queensland but are desperate to make amends.
The fifth-placed Bulldogs had their four-game winning streak snapped by a rampant Cowboys outfit 36-0 in Townsville last-start, bringing into question their premiership hopes.
It was their fourth loss in five games against the current top four teams on the ladder.
"We were very confident and to get a smack in the face like that wasn't what we wanted. But it sure shows us where we need to get to be a top four side," Reynolds said on Tuesday.
The 36 points they conceded was their most since the Sydney Roosters poured on 38 points in last year's semi-final defeat that knocked them out of premiership contention.
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Reynolds said there was a noticeable lift at training following the defeat, and urged his teammates to take heed from the shellacking ahead of Friday's clash against St George Illawarra.
"If there's boys in there that don't take that to heart, the way we were embarrassed up there, we shaped up to be a top four side and we definitely didn't play like one," he said.
"If you don't take it in as a bit of a wake-up call, we're not going to move forward.
The Bulldogs identified a weakness in their edge defence following a review of the defeat.
"Our middle is matching it with everyone. It's just up to us on the edges to fix those little things. It's fair to see there'll be guys out there on the weekend trying to prove a point," he said.
The loss to the Cowboys come after twin defeats to fourth-placed Canberra, and a fourth to ladder leaders Cronulla. The Bulldogs' sole win against a top-four team was against Melbourne in round six.
Canterbury have a chance to make amends against the Cowboys at Belmore in round 25.
"We were a lot closer than what we showed on the weekend. We play them in a couple more weeks so there's a perfect chance to come back and show ourselves that we can match it with the top teams," Reynolds said.
